Tony Evans

Newcastle United missed an open goal yesterday. A club who have been the subject of almost constant negative publicity in the eight years of Mike Ashley’s ownership had a chance to make a clean start. Steve McClaren’s appointment as head coach is widely seen as a positive development. Ashley has

The pressure on Sepp Blatter increased again yesterday after Heather Rabbatts, one of the FA’s two independent directors, resigned from her Fifa post. After the FA vice-chairman David Gill rejected his place on the Fifa executive committee in the wake of Mr Blatter’s re-election as president, Ms

Tonight, the heroes of Istanbul will gather on the banks of the Mersey to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Liverpool’s Champions League victory over AC Milan. Their successors in red shirts will be jetting off to Dubai for a post-season break. It’s just as well. Yesterday’s defeat by Stoke City

How did it come to this? The fear of qualifying for the Europa League is palpable. Sam Allardyce talks as if going into the Continent’s secondary competition threatens the very existence of West Ham United. Just before the halfway mark in the season, Allardyce’s side were in the top four. Then

Chelsea’s path to the title has been so inevitable for so long that even before yesterday’s victory over Crystal Palace some were asking whether Liverpool would — or should — applaud José Mourinho’s side on to the pitch on Sunday. The answer is simple: they should. As Barclays Premier League

Complacency and stupidity make for a dangerous cocktail. For Newcastle United, this combination may still get them relegated. It is hard to think of anyone who would shed too many tears for Mike Ashley’s club. Maybe even on the Gallowgate. This is not a football club as most people understand the

One vision, one club. One overdose of hubris. A month ago, Brendan Rodgers was radiating confidence. His team were on a 13-game unbeaten run in the league that stretched back to December and were closing in on a Champions League place. The Liverpool manager delighted in telling anyone who’d listen

Against the backdrop of Loftus Road, it is hard to see John Terry as anything other than despicable. Even more than his missed penalty in the Champions League final against Manchester United in Moscow, this patch of west London witnessed the nadir of his career. There, against Queens Park Rangers

The most nauseating words in football are “the beautiful game”. Like its equally appalling offspring “sexy football”, it completely misrepresents what is good about the sport. It is appropriate that Pelé popularised the phrase. The beautiful game exalts the cult of personality and downgrades

Seven-game winning streaks are not to be sniffed at, but it is hard to get a proper sense of where England are in the international pecking order from their post-World Cup displays. Italy are not at their strongest, but they should provide a reality check for Roy Hodgson tomorrow night in Turin. In